The mobile entertainment market will more than double over the next
five years, reaching $38.1 billion (19.3 billion) in 2011, according to Informa Telecoms & Media. In its new report, Mobile Entertainment,
Informa says the market was responsible for $18.8 billion in revenues
worldwide in 2006.
Music and images dominate the market accounting for 64% of revenues in
2006. But while mobile music will continue to grow, the market for
wallpapers, avatars and other images will shrink, Informa believes. By
2011, images will have fallen to fourth place, behind mobile games and
video.
Although music services such as ringtones, full track downloads and
ringback tones will continue to generate the highest proportion of
revenues seen in the mobile entertainment industry, Mobile TV service
revenues are set to skyrocket over the next five years, growing from $178 million to more than $1.8 billion in 2011, says Daniel
Winterbottom, Senior Analyst at Informa and Joint Author of the report.
Large sporting events, like the Ashes cricket tour, are seeing more
and more people take out subscription packages with their operators
that allow them to watch TV services on the move, and this is reflected
by the phenomenal growth this segment will see says Winterbottom.
Ringtones and wallpapers, mainstays of the mobile entertainment, are
becoming less important, as consumers upgrade to more advanced handsets
which support a wide array of entertainment features, from 3D games to
broadcast TV to high-quality music playback.
Mobile games and mobile video, which together represent only one
quarter of mobile entertainment revenues in 2006, will account for
close to half of the mobile entertainment markets growth over five
years time.
Consumers are becoming more aware of what their handsets are capable
of, and what services are being offered, says Chris Coffman, Senior
Analyst at Informa and Joint Author of the report. Theres still
significant room for improvement, but mobile operators are making it
easier for consumers to access entertainment content by introducing
search tools and personalised portals.
Mobile Entertainment (4th edition) offers an in-depth analysis of major
player strategy, as well as full forecasts by market segment and
region. Report coverage includes games, music, TV and video, mobile
communities and user-generated content, personalisation and images,
gambling and adult content.
The report includes case studies, business strategy, pricing models,
key issues and recommendations for all players in the Mobile
Entertainment value chain.
The report costs 2495. For more information, or to order a copy, click here. 
To see a graph of mobile entertainment revenues by sector 2006-2011, click here.